Will Gas Stations Become Urban Air Mobility Hubs? GS Caltex Enters UAM Business

GS Cal·Kakao Mobility·LG Uplus, etc.
Form UAM Consortium
Utilize Gas Station Network
Promote UAM Takeoff and Landing Site Construction

On the afternoon of the 10th, officials are taking a commemorative photo at the UAM consortium agreement ceremony held at LG Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. From the left in the photo: Sangyeop Lee, Executive Director of LG Uplus; Seungil Yoo, Vice President of Kakao Mobility; Ibae Kim, CEO of Jeju Air; Ilpyeong Park, President of LG Science Park; Inyoung Jang, Vice President of GS Caltex; Eduardo, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Vertical Aerospace; Youngjun Kim, CEO of Pablo Aviation. Photo by XXX

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] GS Caltex announced on the 11th that it will enter the urban air mobility (UAM) service market by partnering with leading mobility technology companies.

GS Caltex stated that on the previous day afternoon, it signed an agreement to form a UAM consortium together with Kakao Mobility, LG Uplus, Jeju Air, Pablo Aviation, and Vertical Aerospace at LG Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. GS Caltex plans to utilize its nationwide gas station network, including those in urban areas, to establish takeoff and landing sites for UAM, commonly referred to as "flying taxis."

The companies participating in the consortium will take part in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s "Korean Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge" (K-UAM GC) Phase 1 demonstration project to enter the early ecosystem of the UAM industry and further seek additional business opportunities in the UAM sector in the future.

The K-UAM GC Phase 1 demonstration project is an integrated operational program aiming for the domestic commercialization of UAM by 2025, testing the safety of aircraft and traffic management functions. After the participant selection process this year, demonstration flights in open areas are scheduled to begin next year.

Through this agreement, the consortium companies agreed to divide roles and accelerate the promotion of the UAM business.

First, GS Caltex plans to build UAM vertical takeoff and landing sites called "Vertiports" by utilizing its gas station network. Gas stations are evenly distributed nationwide, including urban areas, and have open ceiling spaces that facilitate aircraft takeoff and landing. Building Vertiports at gas stations can reduce time and costs compared to other networks.

Kakao Mobility will be responsible for building Vertiport solutions implementing automatic check-in and security screening functions, and based on its expertise operating the complete mobility service (MaaS) app "Kakao T," it will present a multi-modal mobility vision encompassing both ground and air transportation. LG Uplus plans to establish a traffic management system and stable communication services that monitor and control all movements to ensure safe UAM operations, preventing collisions between aircraft and obstacles. Jeju Air will provide safe and reliable flight services based on its accumulated aviation operation know-how, including aviation professionals and operational systems. Pablo Aviation, a drone solution and service specialist, will leverage its experience developing the smart mobility integrated control system (PAMNet) to build an integrated UAM flight control system.

The aircraft to be used by the consortium will be manufactured by the UK-based Vertical Aerospace. Vertical Aerospace is a global leading UAM aircraft manufacturer with over 1,350 pre-orders worldwide for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. A demonstration flight is planned at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A GS Caltex official said, "After this agreement, we will continue efforts to commercialize UAM services in collaboration with consortium companies," adding, "We will also work to develop gas stations as hubs providing various mobility services such as UAM, electric vehicle charging, hydrogen vehicle charging, car sharing, and drone delivery."

Meanwhile, prior to this agreement, GS Caltex showcased future visions of UAM hubs at CES and the Dubai Expo. GS Caltex participated in CES 2021 held in January last year, presenting a video of a futuristic gas station demonstrating its use as a hub for drone delivery and UAM. Additionally, at the Korean Pavilion’s augmented reality (AR) content at the Dubai Expo in October last year, it depicted a future city where hydrogen charging stations serve as UAM hubs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.